[Jack_]

Welcome to the I_S_P manifesto. It’s time for the politics of the future to begin. These fifteen policies outline the ways in which my party aims to rebuild our society from the bottom up in a fairer, more united manner. Politics for the people, by the people. Equality, tolerance and integration. These policies are designed to help us to progress into the future that we all deserve. Provide us with your vote, and we will provide you with that future.

1) Liberation

This is by far the most forward thinking yet strenuous policy that you shall see outlined in this manifesto, and one that despite being the overriding attitude which guides all the other policies, it is most likely the last one to be truly implemented; that’s if you can consider it a policy of course. It doesn’t require much elaboration, just a straightforward point - all people should be free to do as they wish, so long as what they choose to do does not impose on anybody else’s freedom, health or wellbeing, or indirectly places themselves in a position of danger. That’s anything from a gay couple being allowed to adopt, to the abolition of the television watershed, or even if you just want to have a good old naked stroll down the street. Live and let live.

2) Tax cuts for the poor, tax hikes for the rich

It’s quite simple - capitalism isn’t working; well, at least in its current form. We live in a society of great exploitation by those at the top towards those at the bottom, and as a party seeking to rectify inequalities, this is a big problem that needs to be addressed and completely rebuilt, except this time from the bottom up. It’s time we closed a significant and abhorrent portion of the gap between the rich and the poor for good. It is the only way we can truly progress into an equal and selfless society. A society obsessed with capital is a society destined to disintegrate. Man is more important than material, and we need to really put the wheels in motion if we want this shift in attitudes to occur. Redistributing capital from top to bottom creates a middle ground in which wealth is no longer much of a prominent issue. This time the majority, not the minority, needs to hold the power, and then the road to a recovery of a collective and compassionate society can really begin.

3) A collective and compassionate education system, not individualistic and selfish


British education is long overdue a massive overhaul and it’s down to the party of the future to deliver this. That’s not with legislation taking us back to the 1950’s, but a complete reconstruction of our education system from scratch. One that teaches the value of people, not possessions. A positive, enjoyable and free environment in which each and every new generation shall learn about every aspect of our lives and our world, in an attempt to ensure that the spirit of collectivism, equality and tolerance is ingrained in them as they progress into adulthood. An education system that at its heart provides an equality of opportunity - for everyone regardless of social class, gender, ethnicity or the like. This shall be an education system fit for the future, not for the past.

To progress into a society that values communities and collective identities as well as individuals and their personal needs, instead of exclusively the latter, not only do policies restructuring the economy need be implemented, but the central role of the education system needs to be addressed and overhauled too. It needs, first and foremost, to primarily teach care and cooperation, not individualism and self-enrichment. It is this meritocratic belief which has left us in the state we are in, generations after generations of indoctrinating people to be selfish and obsessed with furthering themselves for their own financial gain as opposed to furthering society as a whole for the benefit of us all. It isn’t working, it is a myth and it is so damaging to humankind. It is our job to ensure that the youth of tomorrow value a human being over a commodity. In a world of great class divisions, a meritocratic system is not just.

As well as this, the only way we can begin to eradicate intolerance and inequality in our society is by educating the next generation in a manner which is open minded and liberal towards a wide range of issues. This process will commence at the very start of a child’s education, with resources such fictional books containing characters and cultures from a wide spectrum, be it a gay couple, a Muslim family, or a transexual teenager, being used as tools to ensure that all children from all backgrounds are taught to be tolerant, understanding and most importantly accepting of one another. By starting this early in a child’s education, we are giving the next generation the best possible opportunity to stand in the face of inequality and use the knowledge and compassion that they have been provided with to help us to shape the best possible future available; one that is fair but free.

4) Private schools abolished

We continue our progressive overhaul of the British education system with this vital policy. Education is not and should not be a commodity to be bought and sold. The financial stability of any student’s parents should not affect their life chances or predetermine their chances of success and progression in the real world. This is an education system open to all; and the only way this equality can really begin is with this imperative piece of legislation that provides equality of opportunity to every learner irrespective of their social class.

5) Politics & Sociology taught as core subjects from age 13

Our work on the education system concludes with this policy. It is essential that young people become more involved in politics and take an interest in how society is shaped and learn about the different perspectives and theories of the world. Far too many adolescents leave education politically unaware with a resounding sense of apathy towards politics. We cannot stand by and let this continue, as it is, after all, this next generation that will shape the future that succeeds ours, and so it is essential that they are given a voice and are encouraged to actively partake in discussion about every aspect of ours and their future.

6) Voting age lowered to 16

In line with our plan to reinvigorate young people’s interest in politics by making such subjects in school compulsory from age 13, it is only right that we reflect this objective by lowering the voting age to 16, so that those who have spent three years studying Politics as a core subject in education are given the freedom to have their voice heard and their beliefs spoken for.

7) Build more social housing

This is a near perfect way of cutting unemployment whilst bringing people together to work for a positive common cause at the same time. Thousands of jobs could be created as people work together to build energy efficient homes for those who are less well off.

8) Rehabilitation over retribution

Our politics are, amongst other things, focused around an understanding of people. That is what we aim to achieve with our policies, and it is the thinking that we follow ourselves. It is of the utmost importance that this is the thinking we use to deal with crime and the consequential forms of justice.

To first begin work on cutting crime levels, we need to address the ‘why’ and understand the reasons behind why every crime is committed. By doing this, we can work on ensuring that it cannot happen again by addressing the problem at its root, rather than at its end. Tabloids and political folk can bang on all they like about the need for an aggressive and zero tolerance approach to crime, but it is reactionary and doesn’t solve the real driving forces and causes of criminal activity.

The key to understanding and resolving the issue of crime lies with rehabilitation. First, you must understand why someone has committed a crime, and then work on helping them to right their wrongs and get back onto the right path, understanding why they should turn their life around and help instead of hurting others, or even themselves. Everyone deserves a chance to change, and it is vital that we provide this opportunity. Harsh prisons and tougher sentences are not a sufficient deterrent, in fact, you could call prison the University of Crime. Hard criminals become harder and resentful and the endless, lifelong labelling of criminals leads them into a dead end, and this results in an ongoing cycle of reoffending. Criminals need to be softened up, they need to understand the value of life and other people, they need to be provided with care and compassion and an education just as much as the rest of us. That is the only way we can give them the best chance at ending their life of crime. The current system is not progress, this is.

9) An overhaul of parliament

British politics is long overdue a complete reworking, and it’s up to I_S_P to provide this and provide the future with the most progressive, fair and up to date democracy it can. There is to be absolutely no direct links between politicians and directors, owners or leaders of any large institution or company that could influence their policies in favour of the bourgeoisie. The House of Commons should be made up of a real reflection of people from all backgrounds, social classes, sexualities, ethnicities, gender and age. That is the only way a true democracy can work - one where all people from all backgrounds can have their say via their respective representative. This is the only way we can obtain the fairest reflection of the population’s views. We cannot continue to be ruled by the 1% and a government made up of some of the most affluent people in Britain, it is not representative of the majority.

10) The Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Sun are closed down for crimes against journalism

We finish our look to the future with a policy we can all rejoice at, as their offices are blown to bits by dynamite in a live televised celebration on BBC One.

1) An ‘anything goes’ thread

This shall be a thread where all arguments on the forum will be directed to in order to solve the issue of petty rivalries between certain members derailing thread after thread across the board. By having a specific thread where members who are involved in an argument can be directed to, not only is everyone able to watch (let’s be honest arguments keep the forum alive and are a good laugh to watch at times) but it means that half of the sh*t is kept out of other threads. Bingo.

On a similar note an ability to ban certain members from certain threads for whatever length of time should also be implemented, as this could potentially stop trouble in said thread without having to ban the member from the rest of the forum. Clever, eh?

2) Forum specific moderators

Instead of a small minority of mods overseeing the entire forum, we have specific mods for specific forums (such as Music, BB, TV Chat etc). The more mods there are, and the more every day members feel as though they are involved in the running of the forum, the less trouble there will be, as the members will be less in the minority and as such, there’ll be less resentment towards any moderators. Plus it'd be fun so yeah.

Alternatively we could just scrap mods because after all, it's only the internet.

3) +1 ing posts

Rewarding posts of a high calibre would be an opportunity to greatly benefit the forum, as it gives somewhat of an incentive for members to make more reasoned, intelligent and informative posts...not just posts full of

4) Removal of the swear filter

This is really still not necessary and it’s a tiny minority who are in support of it, this is not progressive. If there is a way of making it optional, then that is fair and should also be implemented, but regardless, it's time to do away with it. Your brain still reads the word '******' as ‘fuck’ (this is for demonstrative purposes only so no infractions plz mods) and thus a few asterisks aren't going to change the fact that a member just swore. And plus, they're only words. If a member of this forum has signed up because they watch Big Brother, they're going to have witnessed a lot more mature content than Stu calling someone a '****ing dolt'.

5) The Banned Members Forum

When a member is banned (be it for a day, or forever) they are able to post in the 'Banned Members Forum' with all the other banned members, where they can bitch, moan and plot till their heart's content. Imagine the greats like dennisabre and KathyIsASexyBitch meeting the likes of CharlieO and Kate. A match made in heaven, I'm sure you'll agree.

I also think this forum should be viewable to all other members, just for the fun of it...like our own forum version of Big Brother where we can pry into the activities of the banned members and talk about them while they can't see what we're saying.

VOTE I_S_P